A restaurant owner who's been a victim of wage theft took tips and overtime worth $94,000 from 31 workers, DOL finds

• In 2018, the DOL recouped $831 in back pay for Miguel Chi-dzul, who fell victim to wage theft.
• Now, investigators found that Chi-dzul committed wage theft at his own restaurant in Portland.

In 2018, Miguel Chi-dzul's employer was found to have altered records to conceal repeated acts of wage theft, according to the Department of Labor.

He was one of four reported victims and was awarded $831 in back wages for unpaid overtime.

Chi-dzul now has his own restaurant in Portland, Oregon — and appears to have copied his former employer's playbook. Investigators from the DOL say Chi-dzul stole a total of $94,177 in tips and overtime wages from 31 workers at his Casa Maya Taqueria & Cantina.

According to the investigation, Chi-dzul altered official records to conceal his failure to pay legally-required overtime wages. He also reportedly kept a portion of the tips left for workers in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The DOL said it recovered $188,354 in back wages and damages for the workers. It also assessed $11,292 in civil penalties due to the "willful nature" of the reported wage theft.

Carrie Aguilar, a DOL representative, said in a news release: "Miguel Chi-dzul suffered wage theft as a restaurant worker, yet – when in a position to do right by his own workers – he chose to inflict worse financial suffering on people who trusted him as their employer and then attempted to cover it up."

"Restaurant workers are often among the lowest wage earners in our nation, and they depend on every dollar they earn for hours worked and on tips received for good service to their customers," she added.

In an email to McClatchy News, reported by The Olympian, Chi-dzul disputed the DOL's findings. He said he only agreed to a settlement because he didn't have the funds to challenge the matter, arguing this was "in no way an admission of wrongdoing."

He also told the newspaper he felt the DOL investigators were trying to "bully me into settlement."

"They refused to share the basis of their findings with me or my attorney so that we could effectively address them," Chi-dzul said. "They even threatened me with more charges if I tried to contact my employees to be my witnesses."

The Department of Labor, Casa Maya Taqueria & Cantina, and Chi-dzul did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Insider.